A Family Found

Waiting outside the elementary school, leaning back against the polished hood of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid painted in Shoreline Blue Pearl, arms crossed over his broad chest, sunglasses covering his eyes, Dimitrios Michelakakis lifted his face to the warm rays of the sun and the cloudless blue sky of the summer month. This beautiful day reminded him of one he spent with his family on Salamis Island, Greece. They traveled to his father's hometown, Kynosoura, overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean blue of the bay.


A quiet smile curled his lip remembering the long ago trip where he learned his Greek heritage, which he now tried to pass on to his son. Pulling his attention from the past, he lowered his gaze from the sky to study the other waiting families, who were complete, unlike him, who stood alone. Everyone in the parking lot waited for their sons and daughters coming back from the various two-week camps set up by the school. The children returned today, along with his son, from the little league baseball camps. They interacted, some waved hello when they saw him standing off to the side. Most parents in his son's first grade class realized his sexual preference and looked down on it. This Vermont town, Hamilton River, offered more opportunities to gay singles and couples than others, but some people would never approve of raising a child within a different definition of family. It never mattered to his bright, intelligent son.


Several yellow buses with squeaky brakes filled with six to twelve year olds pulled around the long loop in front of the school and parked. Children with happy faces poked out, waved before gathering belongings, chatted with friends, and tried to listen to teachers, coaches, and helpers. Recognizing his son's bus number, Dimitri pushed off the Highlander and moved toward the bus, anxious to see his son's face. He hated time spent apart, especially after everything that went down with his ex-partner, Jamie.


As kids poured out of the bus's doors and sped off across the parking lots, Dimitri pushed the sunglasses into his hair, looking for a tousled head of caramel hair, which matched his shoulder-length locks. There it was. Breaking away from a pack of four other six year olds, his best buds and fellow ballplayers, his son hurtled himself across the parking lot. He dropped his bag of catcher's equipment, then suitcase, and finally a backpack.


"Dad! Dad! Dad! Daddy!" Theodorus cried out.


"Whoa! Who is this monster? Where is my Theo mou? I don't see him," Dimitri teased, looking around as Theo skidded to a stop. "This tall monster isn't Theo mikros mou."


"Daaaaaaddy," Theo whined. "It's me!"


"I don't know. I have seen neither hide nor hair of my yios for two whole weeks. A pretty long time for a little monster to grow up on his old dad."


Theo laughed as he leapt into Dimitri's strong arms, wrapping arms and legs tight, his warm face snuggled tight against Dimitri's neck and shoulder as he hugged on long and hard.


"Ooomph!" Dimitri let out with a burst of laughter as his arms went tight around his little son. He pressed a few hard kisses to the boy's plump cheek, temple, and sunshine-warmed curls before dropping his cheek to his son's head. "Theo mou! Ahh, agapoula mou, back in my arms."


"See, I told ya!" Theo teased, leaning his forehead against Dimitri.


"Can I get a kiss or are you too big for that?"


Theo planted a big fat kiss on his dad's cheek.


"Aww, now I feel so special." Dimitri nuzzled his little guy's nose with his own. Then he twirled them around in circles as Theo laughed and leaned back, letting his arms hang out and his head relax.


"Whoa! You make me dizzy, Daddy!" Theo cried out after a few too many turns and curled in close to him.


"Oh man, Theo mou, gonna have to rearrange my lower back and gut. You definitely got heavier and taller. We're gonna have to check you out against the ruler at home."


Theo laughed and wiggled against his dad's stomach. "Aww, my poor old daddy."


"Yeah, yeah, keep ribbing the old man. Come on, moro mou, let's get your stuff and go home. It was too quiet without you. No more camps. I don't like it without you." Dimitri set his son down on his sneakers, took his small hand in his own bigger one, and went back to the dropped bags.


Bouncing on his sneakers, Theo jiggled his dad's hand. "Guess what, Daddy?"


"What?"


"Coach moved me from the machine pitch team to his team. Coach pitches to the batters and I catch the balls. Guess what, Daddy? I can even make the really long throw back to Coach!"


"Really? That's awesome, Theo mou. How about to the bases?"


"Coach says I gotta build my strength, but he says I'm good, just like you, Daddy," Theo said, letting his sentences run together, so excited with all the news he needed to share, ready to burst out of his clothes. "I'm just like you. I told him how you kept teaching me, showing me how to crouch, how to catch, how to throw, and all that stuff."


Dimitri fluffed his son's hair before bending over to gather up the three bags and slinging them over his shoulder. Straightening, he spotted his son's baseball coach walking over to them.


"Hey, Coach Thomas, I'm telling Dad about changing teams and throwing to you," Theo said, jumping up and down on the end of Dimitri's arm. His grin stretched ear to ear as he looked from his coach to his dad.


Shifting his son's hand to his other one, Dimitri shook Coach William Thomas's hand with a smile and laugh at his son's enthusiasm. "Hi, Bill, how did you survive the last two weeks with ten of these hyper kids?"


"Kept them running around the baseball diamond," Bill Thomas said with a big laugh. "My wife, Susie, and I loved having your son with us this time, Dimitri. Thank you for letting him join us."


Dimitri laughed. "I don't think I could have stopped Theo, not since you told us at the last game of the season," he said seriously. "Thanks for upgrading him to your coacher's pitch team. It's a real honor for his young age." He ruffled his son's hair again.


"It was totally awesome. I wanna go again and again and again. Can I?" Theo looked at him and the coach with big robin's egg blue eyes.


Both adults laughed.


"Sorry, Theo, baseball camp is only once a year," Bill said.


Kicking his sneaker against a rock, sending it rolling across the pavement, Theo pouted in disappointment. "Rats, I wanna go again."


"Even though he's young, Theo's a natural talent. He told me you played in school," Bill said with a smile at the little boy.


"I did, from his age through college. I made it a few years into minor leagues, and finished up waiting in Triple-A."


"Wow, almost made it to the big show."


Theo looked at his coach and then his dad. "Big show?"


"The major leagues, little guy. Your dad could have played with one of the big ball clubs on TV like the Yankees," Bill told him, awe in his voice.


Blinking big eyes, Theo's mouth went in a big O. "Really?"


Shrugging a slender shoulder, Dimitri kept a hand on Theo's back. "Maybe, but it was a long shot and my knees were going bad on me. I had surgery on one knee in college and almost lost my chance," Dimitri said, but he knew it wasn't the truth. He came home seven years ago for a reason that had nothing to do with his knees and everything to do with family.


"If I need help with these boys I hope I can call on you," Bill said.


"In between the catering gigs and work at Terra Verde Bistro, I would be happy to help these boys out and show them some tricks and tips."


"Cameron Graham's place?"


"That's the one. Their regular business has picked up, so I took on their catering side and help him out in the kitchens."


"Daddy is an awesome chef. Puts yummy stuff in the tummy," Theo piped up, rubbing his belly with one small hand.


Bill chuckled. "I bet you get yummy stuff to eat. I wish I could join you, Theo."


Theo grinned.


"Theo-boy, good to have you around for two weeks." Bill held out his clenched hand to the little boy, who bumped his fists against it. "Keep practicing, and within another two years, maybe three, you'll be on the players pitch team."


Again, blue eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Really? I can catch for the other kids?"


"That's right? Then it's a real game for you. Not just learning how to play."


"Cool! I will! Bye, Coach," Theo said.


"Bye, you two," Bill said, shaking hands again with Dimitri before walking back to his wife and other families to pass on different messages.


Theo bounced and skipped. "Wow, oh, wow! When he found out you were a baseball player, Coach was really imp... imp... What's the word, Daddy?"


"Impressed," Dimitri said as he led them back to the waiting Highlander.


"Impressed. That's it. Impressed with you playing baseball, Daddy. Could you almost play baseball on TV? Like Derek Jeter and the rest of the Yankees?" Theo bounced and jumped along next to Dimitri.


"If the coaches asked for me, then yes, I could have gone on to play with the team or one of the other major league teams. It wasn't a definite thing, though, Theo. I could have played for years in Triple-A and never gotten the call. That happens to a lot of players in baseball." Pulling out his keys, Dimitri hit the button to open the back.


Theo laughed as the backdoor rose. "Cool. I love when it does that."


Dimitri hit another button to start the engine and open the doors.


Theo's laughter continued.


"Get in your seat and buckle up, goofball," Dimitri told his son while placing the bags in the back.


Snatching his backpack before Dimitri could add it to the others, Theo held it close to his chest.


"What's up?"


"Moru is inside. He can't go in the back. Silly Daddy," Theo said.


Holding up his hands as if it was a huge offense to the beloved stuffed bear, Dimitri nodded his head to his son. "Oh, well, I'm sorry, Moru. I didn't see him in there."


"He didn't like the trip, so he hid." Racing to the passenger side, Theo hopped on the racing boards in the back seat, opened the door, and lifted himself in the booster seat. He set the backpack on the seat next to him, buckled himself in, checked on the backpack, and kicked his sneakers against the seat.


"All tight?" Dimitri leaned in, checked the middle strap and main seatbelt, ruffled his son's hair when everything was correct, and closed the door. He got in the driver's seat and locked it up. He popped open the mirror above the rearview to keep an eye on his son.


"Daddy, we eating at home or Terra?" Theo asked.


"What do you want? It's your treat for homecoming."


"Terra! Terra!"


"Terra Verde it is. Saves me from cooking," Dimitri said as he pulled out of the parking spot and fell in line with the other cars leaving the school.


"Wanna see Thios Cam, Thios Derek, Thios Mark, and Thia Erin. Will Mia, Ryan, and Riley be there? I miss all of them." Theo clapped his hands.


Dimitri smiled thinking about the wonderful new family that had adopted him and Theo after he moved to this town, escaping the heartache he left behind. "I don't know. Depends on if we get there before they open for dinner. I know everyone will love to see you. They all missed you almost as much as I did."


"Where is Jamie? Is he working?"


He noticed Theo's voice was a little softer with those questions, not with its typical exuberance.


"Theo mou, Jamie isn't. No, he isn't working."


"Then is he back home? He gonna meet us somewhere later?"


"No, Theo mou, Jamie left."


"Oh."


Dimitri glanced in the mirror when he hit a red light. Seeing his son looking out the window, he tilted his head. "What's wrong?"


"Daddy, Jamie wanted me to go to camp."


"What?"


"He said it would be good for me to go to camp, since I love baseball... told... ordered me to go, Daddy. I really wanted to go, I love baseball, but I didn't wanna leave you. Then he ordered me to leave." Theo looked at his dad in the mirror. His big eyes watery. "He wanted to spend some time alone with you. Was I getting in the way?"


"Oh no, yios. That isn't true. That is never true. I never think that about you." Something nasty gripped Dimitri's heart at the thought of his ex telling something so horrible to his son.


"Part of me didn't wanna leave, but Jamie told me. Said he be there so I went. I didn't want to have fun."


"It's okay to have fun without me, Theo mou. It was all about your favorite things--baseball, all your friends, and Coach Thomas. I'm only sorry you felt regret going because of Jamie's inconsiderate jealousy. It was horrible of him to do such a thing to you." Dimitri reached back and touched his son's knee.


"Jamie told me to never say anything to you about why, but he not here to protest or get angry at me."


"No, he's not here now. He isn't coming back."


"Good. I don't like him. Are you mad at me?"


"I'm not mad. I'm happy and proud you told me. I want you to always tell me the truth and I will never get mad at you."


Tears welled up in his son's beautiful eyes, so different than the emerald green of his sister's, and dangled on the long caramel lashes. The plump pink lips hovered and shimmered, not quite breaking into a full-out crying spurt.


Dimitri couldn't drive fast enough through downtown traffic to the parking lot next to Terra Verde. He pulled into a free spot in the courtyard lot across the street. Turning off the engine with a press of the button, he undid his belt and climbed into the back. His fingers fumbled with the booster seat's buckles to free his son.


Theo tumbled against his chest, little arms wrapping around his neck, damp face pressing to his shoulder. "Daddy," he mumbled.


"Oh, agapoula mou, I'm sorry he said that to you. You're my joy and life, thisavre mou." Pressing kisses to the soft face, tangling fingers in the warm curls, Dimitri held his little boy close and rocked him close. "Understand?"


Theo nodded against his neck. "Entaksi," he replied in Greek for 'okay'.


"You remember that word?"


"It's our word. Of course, I remember. It's my favorite Greek word."


Dimitri chuckled at his son. "You got it. It's our word."


Theo leaned back and scrubbed his eyes with fists. His belly made a grumbling noise of hunger. Laughing, he clapped his hands to his stomach. His mouth opened wide. "My belly makes funny noises."


"Indeed it did. It talked to you." Dimitri lightly poked his son's belly with a finger. "What did it say?"


"I'm hungry!"


"Me too. Let's go see what Cameron is cooking." Climbing back in the front seat, Dimitri hit the locks to the doors, grabbed keys and wallet, and got out. He went around to the back, opened Theo's door, and watched him hop to the ground. "I know Mia will want to see you. She's been asking about you."


The adorable face screwed up in an icky position as Theo went into shivers. "Eeeww, Dad! Mia is a girl. I wanna see the twins, not her," he said, talking about the Taylor kids.


Dimitri laughed at the perfect six-year-old-boy response to the thought of playing with a little girl. "I thought you liked Mia, she loves you. You're her boyfriend."


"Double-ick. Yuck!"